The Shape of True Magic

The Cost of True Magic, Dexter Drake’s first appearance in a full-length novel (and second appearance in book-length fiction), hit bookshelves last month. A new book means new art for the magician himself, so we spoke to cover artist David Robert Hovey about illustrating the book’s cover, and his other work on Arkham Horror.

Dexter Drake is a very distinctive character – he has some key costume elements and a troubling ambivalence about the boundary between magic tricks and real magic. How do you go about capturing that in a piece of art?

It’s usually tough to find the balance between drama and realism, but Dexter Drake is great because he’s all drama. There’s no subtlety in a cape and a top hat! So, I had him look directly at the reader and really leaned into that dramatic blue light under his face to set the mood. I didn’t think about it until I saw all the promotional stuff on Instagram, but I really did just paint a gig poster for him. I think that fits the character.

Dexter has such an intriguing expression here – what’s your process for making a character feel like a real person?

Part of my process is taking my own reference. I’ll set up the lighting and get either me or one of my hapless friends to dress up and pose (a friend, in this case). Usually it is just me, so I’ve gotten very good over the years at painting likenesses of other characters using the lighting from the reference. It helps me sell the ‘realness’ of a character when they’re based on real reference.

The cover features Dexter, the Necronomicon, magic, shadowy versions of Marie Lambeau and Michael “Machine Gun” McGlen, and more. What challenges do you face in combining so many different elements?

The fact that I had to fit it all around the text on the cover! I actually think this stuff is so fun. Every project is a puzzle, and frankly I find the amount of things I had to fit into this while making a coherent image was a welcome challenge. The key was his cape. Once I had that giant black triangle splitting the canvas, all the other pieces fell into place. Honestly, this piece was really simple to put together once that happened, but it took hours of thumbnailing to get to that point.

What are your favorite pieces you’ve made for AH, and why?

My favorite pieces represent landmarks in my growth as an artist. All the covers I’ve made thus far for Aconyte (Bullets in the Dark, The Cost of True Magic and the recently announced Master of Twilight) make the list, of course. I could list at least ten more pieces, and they’d all slot together like pegs on a ladder. I’ve been working on Arkham Horror since 2013, and so the story of my artistic journey can be told in part through AH. Early favorites depict me learning how to use rich colors to sell mood, like “Devouring Ooze.” Recently published favorites have seen my work grow in confidence and design, like “Prestidigitation.” I’ve painted illustrations that vary from monsters languishing in darkness to characters engaged in exciting adventures. It’s an IP I really love to work with.

The Cost of True Magic by C.L. Werner is available now from Aconyte Books, in paperback and ebook. Ask for it wherever you buy books, or find a retailer here.